Great Teacher Masaki
by Ledzepfan
Summary: Five years after failing to graduate, Tenchi Masaki sets off amidst a recession in Tokyo with one goal in mind... to become the Greatest Teacher in all of Japan. Of course he wouldn't say no to picking up a girlfriend either.


Disclaimer:  Tenchi Muyo OVA is the property of AIC and Pioneer.  Great Teacher Onizuka is the property of Tokyo Pop.  Tokyo Pop owns Uchiyamada and inspired the storyline to Great Teacher Masaki.  

This story is a fusion fic as well as an AU fic with an OVA flavor and parallel.  Most significantly this does not follow the True Tenchi Novels however it does have very storng parallels to the OVA series.  Differences will be explained in the chapters as they come.  Italics denote first person perspective.           

If anyone here is tired of the classic overused, Tenchi and Ryoko go to high school and fall in love… Well so am I.  This is a creative alternative inspired by the anime Great Teacher Onizuka that is not a High School student romance…  Enter Great Teacher Masaki.

"Tenchi listen I have something to tell you so meet me later by Funaho," was the nervous order that brought Tenchi Masaki out to the ancient tree by the Masaki shrine.  He was dressed casually after painfully going through the graduation party his "family" had thrown him.

            He felt sick to his stomach wishing for something… anything that could be better than the pain from the shame of his charade.  Guilt was consuming him.  His stomach churned under the pain from his deceit.  Death was better than the painful reality he had to bare.  

            The telltale sound of teleportation brought him out of his sorrow.  He spun around to meet the image of Ryoko, garbed in a white sleeveless kimono that reflecting the full moons light, made her glow.  She bit her lip in nervousness as she floated against the moons radiance.  Tenchi could have sworn that she had transcended the boundaries of the living and had become an angel, beautiful, lovingly watching over him.

            "Tenchi," she said shyly as she neared the ground.  Her beauty, and innocence magnified his guilt to the point where he though he would indeed lose the content of his meal to the ground. "I know that today has been a whirlwind with your graduation party and all," she began as she held her hands behind her back. 

            "And I know that a lot of things are about to change with you going to college…  I mean your building you future now.  Your creating a career and I know I'm not going to be seeing much of you anymore because of it.  Things will never be the same."  She took a deep breath before continuing.    

            "There is one thing that I have to tell you before you go," she whispered.  The air grew silent as she began to fidget.  She steadied her body with a look of determination and prepared to utter the phrase that summed up her life.

            'Don't tell me that it's what I think it is,' Tenchi whispered inside himself, hoping and wishing his female companion would not continue.  

            "I love you Tenchi, and I always will," she said quietly.  The silence that had formed made her words sound louder than a shout.  Nature respected the dreams of the woman and complied with her wishes, not uttering the slightest chirp of a cricket or rustle of a tree limb.

            "You don't mean that," Tenchi spat out shaking his head.  "You can't mean that," he said even more forcefully as he began to back away.  Hurt immediately shown on the females face as he uttered those words. The hurt began to turn into anger at the fact that her love was being questioned.

            "What do you mean I don't mean that? I love you with all my heart Tenchi," she rebuked a steady wave of anger entering her voice.  "How can you sell my feelings short like that?" 

            "Ryoko don't be stupid.  How could you love someone as stupid as me?  I'm no good, not even close to being worthy of you!" he stated as he continued to back away.

            "Tenchi, stop it!" she cried out as she slapped him across the face.  Tears slid down her cheeks as she slowly withdrew her hand.  She looked small and fragile, like a glass figurine in a bullpen, awaiting the inevitable shattering.  

            His lowered head began to rise up to establish eye contact with her, tears flowing from his eyes.  "Ryoko, don't you get it? I didn't graduate.  I've been lying to you all.  When I said that I couldn't make it to the ceremony because I was sick, it was a lie too."

            Ryoko did a double take stunned by the news.  "But you said that you had all the credits you needed and that your grades were fine," she pointed out, her shock erasing her anger and pain.  

            "I was academically eligible," he snorted as he continued to leak tears.  "But they didn't graduate me because of 'behavioral' issues," he laughed incredulously.  

            "Hold on a minute," Ryoko said shaking her head and laughing incredulously.  "Tenchi, you wouldn't harm a fly," she said rebuking him.  "How could they keep you from graduating because of behavior issues?  What could you have possibly done?"

            "You don't understand, they've been against me since the day I arrived in the High School.  I had a couple bullies pick some fights with me when I got to High School so they labeled me a troublemaker."  He shook his head as he wiped at his eyes with his shirtsleeves. 

            "They never gave me a chance…  I mean all the teachers say they treat every student fairly but I'm not an idiot.  I can see how they graded me with prejudice and tried to embarrass me.  Some of them even called me trash to my face."

            "They're all supposed to be these great people but then why didn't they ever have the time for me and some of the others.  Just because we weren't in the group of people labeled as the smart bunch doesn't mean we weren't worth the time," Tenchi said passionately.

"Tenchi…" Ryoko muttered, stunned herself.  True, she had known that something was bothering him when he had started coming to the cave, to where her astral body watched over him, more often and looking more depressed as he began high school.  He had sought solitude and a warm presence to ease his troubles, both which she hoped she had given him at the time.  He had eventually returned to normal, hardly coming to visit her leading her to believe everything was alright.  But it obviously wasn't… he had merely buried all his problems deep within himself.  And now…

            "My graduating is so important to dad," Tenchi continued.  "How can I crush his hopes and dreams because of something I did.  They finally declared I couldn't graduate when I interfered in a fight between a gang of kids from school and one kid who was a social outcast.  They freaking hospitalized the kid and they would have killed him if I hadn't interfered and then the school refuses to graduate me because they said I started a fight and was responsible for the damage to my friend.  Explain how teachers can do that?  And I worked so hard to manage decent grades, even with all the trouble you girls brought to me."

            "What do you mean trouble Tenchi?" she asked, shocked in all he was revealing to him.  She knew by the way he said everything and the length of his confession that this was the first time he had talked to anybody about his problems at school.  The grief in his voice caused pain for herself as she began to realize what he had been going through for the past week.

            "Ryoko, you said it yourself.  You don't have any life beyond me," he told her.  "Do you know what a weight that is to have on your shoulders?  Plus you two are always fighting, and now that Kiyone has arrived after being assigned to help Mihoshi, although I'm glad she's here, there has been even more fights between everybody.  That makes it very hard to study.  Not to mention the fact that I have to make sure everybody is taken care of and supported."

            "Tenchi…" she began, just beginning to realize all the stress that was mounted on his shoulders.  

            "I had to go get a part-time job in addition to going school just to support all the funds you all go through and you all caused even more trouble by thinking it was a girlfriend or something.  Well it wasn't Ryoko.  I was working in a grocery store so that we could continue to eat."

            She lowered her head in shame and tears began to trickle down her face and land on the ground.  "Oh god, I didn't mean to hurt you," he whispered in horror as he realized the tone he had used and what he had said.  "I suck at life," he chortled sarcastically.  "Ryoko, I'm sorry… it's no ones fault but mine with what happened, and I couldn't be happier with all you girls living with me."

            He smiled at her and put a finger under her chin lifting it so she was looking at him.  "You're the only one I feel I can talk this way to," he said with a grin.  "I don't know what I'll do, but I know you'll be there for me."

            "I always will be," she agreed with a ragged breath as she wiped at the tears in her eyes.  

            "Thanks Ryoko, I'll always remember that," he said as he took her hand and began to lead them back to the house.  "I'll always remember," he whispered as they disappeared into the dark path.  

***

            Great Teacher Masaki

                        Lesson 1: Birth of a Legend

"This is the beginning of my life," a woman declared as she closed her apartment door behind her.  The warm caress of sunlight poured down upon the early hours of the day, and the life that had just began to stir in the big city of Tokyo. It was a day of rebirth.  It was a day in which years of hard work would finally pay off.  

            The black dyed hair of the woman shined as the suns rays hit the individual strands, their reflected light intertwining to form a radiant glow around the woman.  A glance at her left a person with awe at the very beauty of the spectacle they watched.  She had an air of confidence, kindness and intelligence, an attraction that was immediate and staggering.  

            She had found herself.  She was no longer a parasite relying on one factor to run her life.  She had independence… no longer a dependent shell of a person.  Her life before had been a quest to find who she was.  And one night, her most painful memory had brought the fact that she was a stranger to herself into her immediate awareness.  She had hated herself for that.

            But years later, she stood at the crossroads of her life, finally making the right choice with one newly discovered fact fresh in her mind.  She no longer was the demon.  She was no longer a marionette to hatred.  No longer was she a bad person.  No longer did she live in the self-pity and self-hatred she had once lived.  She finally loved herself… fully and totally loved who she was and what she had become.  

            The past was no longer worth living for.  A bright present and an even brighter future awaited her, not to be blemished by a horrid past.  For the first time ever Ryoko Hakubi loved herself.

            With a grin she inspected her attire for the day and her shapely body.  "You are one sexy demon," she praised with a grin as she began to step down the stairs of her apartment complex.  "No not a demon, at least after today," she said with a happy shake of her head.  

            She walked down the steps her modest black skirt and white shirt flowing with her actions.  "After today and the interview," she started climbing off the last step onto the concrete sidewalk in front of her.  Her high heels clicked as she walked and her makeup left a trail of men following her with a dazed expression.  She was dressed to kill, not usually one accustomed to dressing up yet ready to do so to instill a good impression.  

"I'll be one sexy teacher!"

She paused a little in her step, her memory of the dream she had just had fresh in her head.  "I wonder why I remembered that today," she pondered as she began to walk down the street in a tantalizing strut that made men grin and most women green with envy.

"I haven't even though of Tenchi and the rest of them in such a long while," she pointed out as she began to cross the street absorbed in thought.  "I'm not ready to go back and see them yet," she declared.

"Maybe after I've gotten a teaching job," she said reflecting on the fact that she hadn't seen her family in five long years.  "Besides," she said regretfully, "Tenchi's probably back at home, happy and married to someone, maybe Aeka, and pumping out kids as fast as possible."

"Geeze stop it Ryoko," she reprimanded herself.  "This is why you changed your last name to Mitsurugi," she pointed out to herself.  "You wanted to sever your ties until you had created your own life, separate from Tenchi's.  And the only way you thought you could do that was by fulfilling your vow to become a good teacher that cares about her students…"  

She sighed in remorse and looked down at the ground.  "I miss them so much…" A sudden contact with her rear end brought her to full alert as she felt of hands accidentally bump into her butt… and remain there.  Her teeth gritted as they continued to remain there and began to squeeze.  She darted to the left still not daring to look up, restraining herself showing some of the maturity she had gained since leaving the Masaki house.  

The sound of a blaring horn brought her out of her one-person argument as she noticed that she was on pavement.  Immediately she spun around only to see a huge truck trying to slow down yet failing to do so.  She clenched her teeth and swallowed loudly as the truck headed directly for her body, ten feet away at the most.  

'This is not good,' was her only thoughts as she stared at the giant machine towering over her.  'This is most certainly not good…'

***

            "Ah, the beauty of women," Tenchi Masaki laughed as he sat on the doorstep of his best friends motorcycle store, staring at the passing crowd.  "Are you coming on Kaji?" Tenchi hollered into the shop.  "You're supposed to be… Hello mama!" Tenchi declared standing up his long black hair shaking in the ponytail it was tied in.  He was tall, with a face that was most similar to a young Katsuhito yet with a rougher cut making him look down to earth instead of some royal warrior.

            He was dressed casually with a pair of khaki colored cargo pants, an olive green t-shirt and a pair of black shades, and ignoring life for the most part.  His attention was elsewhere as a particularly beautiful woman, in a red suit that looked to be painted on it hugged so tight to her body, walked by.  His eyes were glued to her particularly large bust and his mouth was hung open in a content smile.  Onlookers could even see a small bit of spit begin to drool out of his mouth.

            "You know, sometimes I can't believe you're the same guy I meant back in Okayama five years ago," Mamoru Kaji chuckled as he stepped out of the doorway and into the bright sunlight of day.   He wore the typical one-piece garb of a grease monkey and wiped sweat off of his forehead with his sleeve as he continued to laugh. 

            Tenchi turned to his best friend and smiled.  "Believe, me I am," he told Kaji.  He returned to his normal bout of babe watching as Kaji sat down on the front steps of Kaji's motorcycle shop, that went by the name of "Burned Rubber" as was inspired by Tenchi's habit of doing so driving out of the shop.  It had been five years since the two had met but they had immediately hit it off and never strayed far from the other in any of that time.

            "Still, it's hard to believe you were that sniveling wimpy boy back then," Kaji taunted.  "What could have changed you so much? What were you doing when I picked you up off the side of the road?" he asked.  "Huh tough shot?"  

            "Kaji, if you know what's good for you..." Tenchi threatened grinding his teeth as he glared at Mamoru with slit eyes.  Kaji began to laugh harder as Tenchi's glare deepened and his eyebrows slanted to the point they were almost vertical lines and his lips puckered.  The clutched fists finished off what Kaji had dubbed, "Tenchi's Angry Face."  "You promised to never repeat that story," Tenchi pointed out venomously.  

            Kaji merely smirked and stood up.  "Weren't you crying?"

            "That's it Mr. Kaji, your getting yours," Tenchi declared as he proceeded to chase Kaji into the building and around the various motorcycles in the shop.  Inevitable as it was, Tenchi caught up with Kaji and proceeded to put him in a headlock.

            "Okay, okay," Mamoru, laughed as Tenchi gritted his teeth.  "Besides, you're not going to really fight anybody unless you have a good reason."  

            "I guess your right," Tenchi grinned as he released his friend and walked over to the couch.  He sat down lazily and spread his body across the sofa, as he was accustomed to doing.  "It's been a wild ride, hasn't it Kaji?" Tenchi asked, referring to his friend by his last name as he always had, a little habit that had basically become his nickname for his friend.

            "You sure can say that," Kaji agreed as he leaned against the wall.  "Though you realize that you have never lost that wussiness," Kaji pointed out.  As Tenchi began to assume his angry face Kaji waved his hands in a downward motion attempting to quell his friend's anger.  "Relax, relax.  Geeze Tenchi, you remember that I always say the strongest man is not afraid to cry.  But I still can't believe the leader of the Yokohama Raiders, one of the most respected motorcycle gangs in the world was such a softie."

            "That was a wild ride," Tenchi admitted.  "You wanted to know what happened to me to change me," he asked as he relaxed into the comfortable couch.  "Life happened," he said with a laugh.

            "Ain't that the truth though?" Kaji agreed.  

            "We were two scared boys, you with a motorcycle, and both too ashamed to face their families.  And then we got caught up in all that crap…" Tenchi reminisced.

            "Crap is an understatement," Mamoru Kaji said lost in the memory of their intertwined pasts.  

            "God I remember everything," Tenchi murmured as memory filled his vision.

***

            _There is now way I can face anyone I thought cynically.  What was I doing?  Was I really that scared boy that Kagato had said I was?  I was definitely proving it.  I had told Ryoko everything but I couldn't face the family.  Kami-sama, my parents had always hold their one dream for me to graduate from high school, be successful and have a good life._

_            But did I end up doing that?  Dad had did nothing for the weeks during the end of my senior year, but tell me that he and mom had always wanted me to graduate, and that they were both so proud of me.  So here I was, failing them, lying to them and rubbing dirt on the memory of my mother.  _

_            Ryoko said everyone was fine with everything but how could I face them?  Kami-sama I've disgraced the Masaki name.  What could I do?  Tears flowed freely down my face as I walked down the road, my suitcase in hands.  This was my only choice.  I would go away, send money home, gods did I know of the money problems we were having because of our extended family.  _

_            The humming of a motor on this desolate road is a seldom-heard thing.  And as I heard it approach I became full of worry.  Was it my dad coming to take me back?  Had they found the letter I left and decided to come after me?  _

_            But as the motor's source was revealed, it was only a boy like myself flying on a motorcycle, his head lowered and tears glistening out of his eyes.  The minute he saw me, he lost his focus and began to spin out of control.  In a reflex I took hold of my Jurai power and moved to stop him as he came closer to impact with me.  The impact did little to me as I cushioned the motorcycle and pivoted backward with it, redirecting it out into the middle of the road, instead of it's original course through me into the forest on the side of the road.  He slowed down, stopped and turned around, regarding me with amazement, as I felt the power I had just embraced gently flow out of me._

_            "Holy shit, how in the hell did you do that?" was his first and immediate question.  _

_            "Training," I muttered, my face still moist from my previous tears._

_            "That must have been some hell of a trainer," he whispered in awe.  "By the way what's the matter? And thanks for saving my life," he said with incredible sincerity.  _

_            "To be honest with you since I'm too tired to play games, I didn't graduate, and I'm too ashamed to face my family," I said in a burst of frankness.  I was just so tired of playing games.  I wanted to be frank blunt and absolute for once.  I was so tired of my mask…  a mask that I had always worn.  _

_            I just wanted to be free from that burden.  Free to trust someone and reveal the person I had always kept bottled up inside.  I could still feel the hurt, even then, from my mother's death: A death that had forged my mask in the depths of my consciousness.  I was afraid that I didn't stay pure, and innocent, the epitomy of the "nice guy," other people would get hurt… other people I loved would die and leave me just like mother._

_            But Kami-sama was I sick of it.  I just couldn't go on living like that.  I couldn't be half the person I truly was, living life like a lie.  Look how a lie had ended up… I was running away from home on the day of my graduation party after a talk with Ryoko.  But I couldn't live like that… I couldn't live a lie anymore.  It was time to start being a full and complete Tenchi, no longer a half shell, and no longer a half of a man._

_            I needed to be my true self and this stranger was a perfect starting point for my new life.  His reaction however, surprised the hell out of me.  "That about sums up my life too," he said disheartened as he pulled his bike over to the side of the rode, put down the kickstand and sat down on the seat so that his front faced tenchi and his back faced the handlebars of his bike.  _

_            "Kami-sama life suck doesn't it?" Tenchi asked leaning against a tree on the road, his composure totally regained as he met someone who he could sympathize with.  "The teachers were against me since I started, and even though my grades were average, and not even close to failing, they didn't graduate me."  _

_            "God Teachers are supposed to be noble, fair people when all they did was treat people like you and me like shit.  And then how am I supposed to face my parents when I don't graduate?" the bike rider said._

_            "You're running away?" I asked in obvious astonishment.  It was incredible to find another person with the same problem as me.  _

_            "How could I face my parents?  Maybe after I make something of my life, I'll be prepared to see them again," he declared squeezing his hands.  "When they'll believe me over lying teachers, and I'm successful, I'll come back and see them again."_

_            "Hey it looks like we're in the same boat," I told him, taking camaraderie in our similar situations.  "I'm running away from home too."_

_            I watched his features light up as he realized he wasn't the only person in a hopeless situation.  "Say I was thinking about traveling to Yokohama… trying to start again and everything.  Wanna come?" he asked with hopefulness, putting full trust in me.  _

_            "Hell yeah," I cheered back, grabbing chance by it's slippery back and riding it till I tamed the savage beast.  _

_            "Hop on," the biker replied happily, revving up the engine to the point where a faint ringing filled my ears.  I didn't care, to me, that sound was the sweetest melody in the world.  It was the call of the path that would lead me to my future and redemption worthy of my re-induction into my family.  "By the way, my name is Mamoru Kaji," the biker told me._

_            "Tenchi Masaki," I greeted as I mounted the speedy vehicle that would bring me to a change in my life.  But on the moment when I mounted the bike, I made a solemn vow to never become the pathetic boy I had been.  I wouldn't hid my feelings ever again, hide my occasional frustration and loss of temper behind a veil of meekness.  I wouldn't deny the fact that I was a normal male that was attracted to females, and I wouldn't shy away if opportunity presented itself._

_            In that moment, I lost the façade of a shy, meek boy, albeit since those traits were still a part of who I was, I didn't really lose them.  I found an internal balance and ceased being half a boy.  In that instant, I became a complete man, the true Tenchi Masaki._

_***_

            "That was quite a meeting wasn't it old friend," Tenchi laughed as he popped open a beer and chugged the contents without stopping.  "Fun times, eh?" Tenchi asked as he sat down after his brief refrigerator raid in his friend's joint bike shop and home.  He sprawled himself over the couch again, retaking his normal position of relaxation.

"Not when we first got to Yokohama, if I remember correctly," Kaji replied with slanted eyes, in a questioning gaze.  "Do you remember anything outside of your little dream world there Tenchi?  Like what really happened?"  

            "Mamoru Kaji," Tenchi reprimanded with a smug grin, "always the pessimist I see."  He lifted his left foot so that it was over the back of the couch as he readjusted himself.  He closed his eyes in a total state of relaxation as he reached out and grasped the second can of "Yebisu Beer" he had grabbed from hisprevious journey into Kaji's kitchen.

            "You mean, in touch with Reality," Kaji laughed.  "Don't you remember eating one meal a day and sleeping outside, everyone looking down on us?"

            "Unfortunately," Tenchi grimaced.  "Why are we talking-"

            "But that changed one night, didn't it?" Kaji asked, prompting his friend's memory.

            Tenchi opened one eye as he let loose a chuckle.  " Now that is a good memory," he laughed, the lucky break in his life fresh in his head.

***

            _I was so utterly drunk that I could barely walk.  In fact now that I think about it, I doubt I was even walking.  Leave it to Kaji to be trustworthy and limit himself as I, an underage citizen drank his worries away.  I would have never touched any alcohol before, but then again, I wasn't Tenchi then.  The real Tenchi that at least…_

_            My head ached, my body was numb and everything felt heavy.  Basically the last thing I remembered was murmuring something about pink monkeys, the similarities between the full moon and a plate of Sukiyashi, and stumbling to the ground to throw up._

_            My Jurain genetics is the only thing I can attribute to the fact that five minutes later, I was awake from my spell of unconsciousness, fully aware of my surroundings and with the a hangover that brought my concentration to a staggering nil.  I think that the lost effects of the alcohol were due to some strange survival instinct… I unknowingly sensed danger and the body booted out all of the alcohol.  This resulted in a quick incredibly magnified, and Kami-sama, **painful** hangover that ended abruptly.  _

_            With my nights consumption out of my system, I had enough sense to realize that their was a person in front of me.  A large person.  A large person clad in leather.  Actually, a large person clad in black leather._

_            That was most obviously a male.  Most obviously a male with a large chain swinging above his head.  And a menacing glare.  So basically to do a recap, it was a large male dressed in black leather with a large chain swinging above his head._

_            Oh and not to mention, that he had a sword drawn in his chain less hand.  And a couple of cronies surrounding him… well, just two hundred or so._  _Not really all that big of a deal._

_            "Hehe, is their anything wrong?" Kaji had asked the people surrounding us.  The large brute of a male man clad in black leather with a chain swinging over his head and a sword drawn in his other hand with about two hundred cronies merely smiled, with a… oh did I mention that he was missing assorted teeth that were filled in with sharp jagged looking steel replacements?  Well the large brute of a man clad in black leather with a chain swinging over his head and a sword drawn in his other hand with about two cronies merely smiled menacingly.  _

_Suddenly a smell permeated the atmosphere wafting into my nostrils and nearly causing me to fall over unconscious.  The smell of sewage, a putrid odor that disgustingly pierced the air, emitted from the black leather clad man.  The odor only served to make Kaji antsy.  As the man shifted his black leather arm that held the drawn sword, the head of a dragon tattooed on his skin entered my eyesight._

_"Um… hehe," Kaji murmured.  "This is a beautiful night isn't it?"_

_The large brute of a man clad in…. who I will refer to as the Septic Dragon merely smiled back, even more in response menacingly than before.  I glared at the man … he was a little annoying to say the least.  "If you're going to say something, then spit it out," my alcohol lacking, adrenaline induced judgment made my body say._

_The next few moments were that of pure terror for me.  The actions, which the beast of a man took, struck my very being.  They took me up and turned me inside out while hanging me out to dry.  This Septic Dragon knew how to hit hard._

_I actually succeeded in producing a reaction as the Mighty Septic Dragon lowered his great hands down towards my body.  I didn't flinch as his fingers made contact with my loose t-shirt… and preceded to grab the pin clipped to my shirt that formed the image of a full pint of beer.  He proceeded to rip it off of my shirt._

_Horror grasped my being as I collapsed to the ground.  That same smile bore down as me as he held my pin up high in the air.  His groupies snickered as I began to beg with all my being.  "Please, no, you don't know what you are doing," were my cries, desperate to reason with that Septic Devil.  _

_But it proved to no avail as the evil, cheap excuse for a human being, evil, not deserving to live, evil, should be put out on a cliff and shoved off, evil, deserves a multitude of deaths, evil, followed by roasting on a marshmallow stick, evil, in the fires of hell, evil, bastard squeezed that poor innocent pin.  What did that drinking trophy ever do to him?   Oh, he would pay…  for the innocent life he cost.  Never mind the fact that Kaji was being jumped by a multitude of the Septic Bastards goons… but for that drinking trophy, oh, he would be punished._

_That trophy had been the product of a week of eating nothing but bread and selling half the supplies I had brought from home.  Everyone had pretty much shunned us, so me and Kaji had only ourselves to turn to.  We had planned a night of wallowing our miseries in alcohol, which had led to a drinking contest with the occupants of the bar.  I had actually for being my first time drinking, done pretty well, and won the second place price… that golden pint of beer pin.  _

_I could just remember the cute little froth that was painted on the top of it…_

_            The Septic Dragon was going down.  That was all there was to it.  _

_            I looked over to see Kaji bound and gagged as I stood up.  The moment that the Septic Dragon tossed the crumpled metal remains of my trophy at my feet, my angst soared to unbelieving heights.  It was nothing more than a sphere of compressed metal._

_"You don't have any clue about what you just did," I informed him politely, my venomous anger coming into my voice.  His followers looked a little taken aback that I was standing up to their mighty leader.  I continued with the standard pre-ass-kicking lines.  "I gave you a choice, and for that exact reason, I will show you no mercy."_

_I watched as he let out a short little chuckle and then gritted his teeth all the while keeping that obnoxious smile.  Without warning he sent the chain at me with such force that it was invisible to the average naked eye.  Of course, I wasn't average due to my ancestry and watched it impact with the ground in which I had just stood.  Watched it that is, from right next to the Septic Dragon.  _

_His followers cried out in astonishment as they saw where I was, and realized they had not even seen me move.  Finally, that annoying smile left the Septic Dragon's face as he spun around and glared at me.  He roared as the silver sword he now held in both hands, made it's way towards me at astonishing speed.  A loud crash ensued followed by a gigantic splash that sounded off as the man I had kicked flew into the lake, in the process flying through the tree that had blocked his path._

            _His cronies watched in awe as I landed my jump kick gracefully and prepared myself to take on any challengers.  Of course, what happened after that took me by total surprise.  I looked behind me to see Kaji with a cold Yebisu beer in his hand lounging against a tree and the rest of the gang on the ground bowing before me.  I scratched my head and laughed my normal nervous laugh as one man amongst them stood up and kneeled before me.  "Umm, hehe, what's up?" I asked in surprise._

_            "Hey Tenchi, you did something right for a change," Kaji cheered from the sidelines, obviously enjoying the change in his position.  Needless today, I was still as lost as Mihoshi, trying to find out what exactly was going.  _

_            "Lord Tenchi," the man began._

_            "Hey don't call me that alright," I interrupted as the man began to address me.  The bowed assemblage began to stir, fear at angering my incredible, awesome, unstoppable, supreme, great… err force running through them.  I waved my hands in a downward motion trying to quell their emotions.  "Listen it's no big deal," I began, "that just kinda creeps me out, ya know?" _

_            "A thousand apologies Mr. Tenchi," the man blurted out, fearing he had offended me.  "It was incredibly stupid of me to call you-"_

_            "Listen, it's not a big deal," I interrupted.  _

_            "Of course not Mr. Tenchi, but," the man continued.  _

_            "This is getting me nowhere," I sighed under my breath.   "Listen-"_

_            "This is none other than Tenchi Wantanabe," Kaji interposed from the sidelines.  He got to his feet and walked up to me with a grin.  I internally sighed, happy he had referred to me with the fake alias I had taken up.  I would not drag dirt on my families name through my mistakes. So with the beginning of my harsh new life, I was reborn Tenchi Wantanabe…  At least until the day I could face my family again._

_            "Mr. Tenchi Wantanabe and-," the man said directing toward Kaji.  Kaji took the hint and gave an even wider grin. _

_            "Mamoru Kaji," he supplied.  _

_            "-and Mr. Mamoru Kaji," the man continued.  "My name is Vincent Iwata, the second in command of the Yokohama Raiders-" he started again.  _

_            My heart immediately caught in my throat.  I had just kicked a member of the Yokohama Raiders into the lake.  I had just kicked one of the members of one of the most feared gangs in all of Japan into a small body of water.  Even prayer couldn't save me and Kaji._

_            "-under the man you just disposed of into that Lake: Our late leader Kenji Shinomori-"_

            __

_            Correction, I had just kicked the LEADER of the Yokohama Raiders into a lake.  Tsunami was probably up there cracking up with laughter.  Yeah, I was definitely a regular comedian for the divine._

_            "And on behalf of the Yokohama Raiders, I would like to give you our greatest thanks of disposing of that scum and congratulations on becoming our new leader.  Just because of his size he held a monopoly over our organization.  And since our gang is built on tradition we couldn't remove him by anything other than other than one on one combat.  And no one has been able to do that until you.  By tradition, the one who defeats the leader of the Yokohama Raiders assumes his position of leaderships."  Vincent took another step towards me with a smile.  _

_            "Congratulations, Tenchi Wantanabe, our leader," he professed.  _

_            Only one phrase could escape my lips.  "What have I gotten myself into?"_

_***_

            "But that's all behind us now…  Hasn't it been two years since we moved out here to Tokyo and left Yokohama behind?"  Tenchi asked.

"Yup…" Kaji answered.  "Ya know, even though this remembrance is fun and all, didn't you have something you had to do today?"  Kaji asked as he drained the remains of his beer.  He set his empty can down on a small table and removed a sparkplug from his pocket that he began to examine.  

            "Huh, since when have I had anything to do?"  Tenchi asked in response.  "I'm all done with college, passed the national exam to become a teacher and all… and it's summer.  What could I possibly have to do?"

            Tenchi got up and followed Kaji into the garage portion of his shop where the man began to work on a bike that looked in dire need of repair.  "Well don't yell at me if I'm wrong or anything, but wasn't there that Interview at the Holy Cross School today?  You know the only School in Tokyo that is accepting new teachers in this recession?"

            All sound ceased as Kaji continued to work on the bike.  "Hey Tenchi, am I right?  Tenchi?  Tenchi?  Umm, you alright man?"  He looked up from the bike to see his friend standing petrified, not even breathing. " Tenchi?" he asked getting up and walking over to the man who stood staring out into space, his open mouthed expression blank and a little frightening. 

            In a second Kaji was lifted into the air by his collar as Tenchi regained some movement.  "Tell me what day and time it is and by god, if you're lying…"  Tenchi threatened.  Kaji broke free of his hold and landed on the ground with grace.  

            "Geeze man, take it easy there.  It's Wednesday, and it's quarter till two,"  Kaji supplied.  Seeing Tenchi's reaction of falling flat onto his back and jumping back to his feet, Kaji assumed a sweat drop stance with his shoulders sagged.  "You forgot didn't you?"

            Tenchi was gone in a flash darting around Kaji's home in search of the suit he had stored their in preparation for the day.  "Cut me some slack!"  Tenchi called out.  "It's not like it's possible for a bachelor to keep days straight when there's no school."

            "Bachelor," Kaji replied sarcastically, returning to his rusted bike.  "Hell Tenchi, your still a virgin," he laughed.  "What, one date in five years?"  

            "I'd kick your ass if the Interviews didn't start at two,"  Tenchi called out, hopping one foot as he attempted to get into his pants.  "Besides like I always say," Tenchi said. 

            "I have my reasons," Kaji finished.  "Will you hurry up, I doubt even you could get to the Holy Cross School from here in fifteen… no wait ten minutes."  Kaji listened to his best friend yelp as he stumbled out the door dressed in a navy blue suit.  

            "I'm outta here," Tenchi announced in a sprint as he made his way out of his friends home.  

            "Hey Tenchi," Kaji called out, standing up and turning around to face his friend.  "Take your favorite one," he laughed as he tossed a key at the tall, longhaired, very late man.  "And good luck."

            "Thanks Kaji," Tenchi said with a grin as he mounted a sleek looking black motorcycle and started the engine, revving it up with exhilaration.  

            "And here comes his standard exit," Kaji grimaced.  His grimace turned to a cringe as the wheels on his friends borrowed motorcycle began to smoke as he left a smoldering black skid mark in the exit of his friends shop.

            Kaji walked over to the exit and saw his friend weaving through traffic with an incredible skill that Kaji had never seen matched.  He had taken to bike riding as if he had been doing it for years upon end.  He was definitely the best street racer Kaji had ever met and Tenchi's name that was held as sacred among the biker gang world was proof of that.

            "Yup, a standard Masaki exit," Kaji agreed again as he looked down at the "white" concrete floor that had originally been in his shop that now looked the same color as freshly laid asphalt.  "Good luck buddy," he laughed as the sound of his friend's bikes engine retreated off into the distance.

***    
  


            Ryoko barely had time to scream and close her eyes as the truck neared her. Her instincts had been dulled by her vow never to use her powers again.  A vow that she had made the day she left the Masaki house, in actuality the day after Tenchi's mysterious departure.  But then again, he was probably back there, married to Aeka or something by now.  

            She waited for the impact, still not willing to resort to teleportation or phasing.  Breaking her vow would destroy who she was, all that she had worked so hard to find.  She would rather die herself than live a stranger.

            Tires squealed, motors flared, people screamed…  and the impact came.

            Surprisingly it was gentle.  Her body might survive but then again who knew?  'Where the hell is my life flashing before my eyes?' she wondered idly as she was consumed by the soft impact.  'Tsunami that's cheap, I don't even get that,' she cried internally in frustration.  Suddenly she was aware that she was slowing down very quickly.  Her body slid sideways in an awkward skidding motion.  It was then that she decided to open her eyes only to stare into a pair of deep brown ones that reminded her of someone she had loved, someone she had left behind years ago.

            "Hey you all right?" the man asked as he lowered her to the ground from his arms, where he had been holding her.  It was actually a surprise to her that this man could pick her up with one arm while driving his motorcycle, manage to accelerate and then skid his back tire out as he stopped.

            "Yeah, thanks to you," she answered breathlessly.  Her cheeks were flushed from the near death experience and to a degree from the man in front of her.  He turned from her for a second and glanced down the street, his face turning into a smile as he looked upon a balding man walking down the street quickly, not daring to look back.  

            He looked back at her and smiled cockily.  "He wanna go give that old pervert who forced you into the street the ride of his life?" he asked revving up his motorcycle.  He took his own helmet off and offered it to her.

            "Sounds like fun," Ryoko laughed, her free and mischievous spirit shining through.  She had forced herself to calm down even if it meant hiding some of her self since she had taken off on her own, but she had always known who she was even if she was hiding.  She hopped onto the back of the motorcycle, surprised when he climbed off himself.

            "Hold on a sec, I have to go change into some gear," he announced as he grabbed a pack that was strapped onto the back of his bike and disappeared down an alley.  "Time to teach an old creep a lesson," Tenchi cackled as he opened up his pack.  

***

            "What kind of gear is that exactly?"  Ryoko asked as she clung to Tenchi's body.  Tenchi merely grinned his whole thought process concentrating on a simple train of thought.  'I know I told Kaji that I was becoming a teacher because of all those incredibly gorgeous high school girls with loose morals, but look at her,' he thought.  'She's got to be one of the hottest girls I've ever seen in my life, and she's clinging to my body like I'm a lifejacket,' he laughed internally.  

            "What do you mean?" Tenchi asked accelerating even faster in his quest to catch up with the pervert that had caused his gorgeous companion to dart into incoming traffic. 

            "Well don't get me wrong or anything," Ryoko laughed nervously, "it's just that you don't often see biker dressed up as… well."  She laughed nervously again as the crowd on the side of the street started screaming and running away from her companion.  Traffic had long ago given them a wide berth.

            "There he is," Tenchi called out, jumping the curb and beginning to drive on the sidewalk chasing after the man that would not look back for all his worth.  He began to laugh and grin as Ryoko tightened her grip.  "Old Pervert, I am here for your life," he declared darting forward towards the pedestrian with a vengeance.  

***

            Yushiro Uchiyamada was not having a very good day.  First he had woken up to a bowl of cereal… a bowl of cereal that he had to pour himself and add milk too.  No more home cooked meals for poor hardworking Uchiyamada.  He was a man on his own.

            A man on his own that happened to have a wife, a son and a daughter but nevertheless, still a man on his own.  That had become truth when he had lost his family.  No longer was it "honey, I'm so happy your home," followed by a welcome home kiss.  No more was it, "Dad, I love you so much which is why I will always live at home with you and mom and never date because I'm your little girl."  No longer was it, "Hey dad, Let's go toss the ball around in the backyard even though you r horrible at baseball and your back acts up after the first couple throws."

            No truly, Yushiro Uchiyamada was a man on his own.  And then on his way to work well who could really blame such a man after all the things that had gone wrong to after accidentally touching the rear of an incredibly attractive young woman… well to squeeze?  Who could blame him? 

            Of course, then when she darted out into traffic.  He didn't know what had happened… he was just an innocent bystander.  How could he be held responsible?  And if he didn't look back, he had done nothing and nothing had happened.  So he kept on walking… that was until the phrase, "Old pervert, I am here for your life" caught his ears.

            Immediately he was running down the street as fast as he could.  He dared a look behind himself and nearly wet himself.  Chasing behind him was a dark figure dressed in a pitch back incredibly large cloak with a hood covering his face.  Oh yeah, and there was a long wooden staff held in his hand with a curved, gleaming metal blade on the end of it.  

            So he was basically being chased by a being with a flapping and fluttering black cloak and a gleaming silver scythe in one of his hands with the other on the handlebar… oh yeah the cloaked being was riding a incredibly fast motorcycle.  Uchiyamada's day had effectively gone from bad to worse after attracting the attention of the grim reaper.  

            Seeing a break in the buildings to his right he immediately ducked into it in an effort to lose his intimidating stalker.  "AHH!" he cried out as he realized that the break he had though was a street was indeed a street.  Well more of a dead end alley with high buildings on either side, trapping him in.  He ran as fast as he could down to the door that was near the dead end wall on the immediate right. He cursed his luck as he found the door to be locked.

            The engine of his stalkers motorcycle decreased in volume as the being slowed down.  There was no hope that he had not seen Uchiyamada dart down this alley.  Uchiyamada began to shake with terror as he surveyed his surroundings.  

            There was the opening to the alley of course, where he had came in and his pursuer probably lay waiting to ambush him.  Not to mention that the entrance was of ideal size giving the motorcycle driver plenty of room while giving him the control needed to ensure his prey didn't escape.  Uchiyamada was truly screwed if the being decided to take that avenue.  

            His attention came to the door that was now on his left as he backed up against the dead end wall.  The door could stand up to human abuse sure… but to a motorcycle with s scythe wielding fiend on it.  The door would not stand a chance.  And the doorway was perfectly motorcycle sized.  It wouldn't be much of a squeeze at all to knock the door down and come out onto the poor innocent Uchiyamada.

            And then there was the window that was on his right.  The room it was on was totally dark with shades drawn but it wouldn't be very hard for the motorcycle to squeeze out of the bay window.  And then behind him...

            He spun around to reveal the dead end wall.  No doors or windows covered it.  There was nothing but a very small, way too tiny for a motorcycle, crack in the wall.  He took a little comfort in that fact and returned his attention to monitoring the three possible points of attack.  

            A cracking noise grabbed his attention…  the sound of a pane of glass giving way under pressure of a wooden door feeling the strain of a scythe and bike.  Uchiyamada found himself on the ground twenty feet ahead as the wall behind him burst open, in turn changing from a crack in the wall to a motorcycle-sized hole in the wall.

            "Please, please, please spare me," Uchiyamada begged as he rolled onto his knees from his back.  "I didn't mean to do anything," he whined.

            The Grim Reaper dismounted his noble steed… err motorcycle and walked up to the crouching man revealing Ryoko behind him.  In a true dramatic sense, Tenchi cast off his cloak and threw his scythe to the side.  

            "How dare you do something like that, you old pervert," Tenchi said lifting the old man up by the collar of his shirt with one hand and grabbing the man's red tie in the other hand.  "I think you owe this young lady over here a huge apology." 

            Tenchi walked with Uchiyamada still elevated over to Ryoko who sat on the bike, both her legs to one side to avoid revealing too much.  As far as she was concerned, none of them were her Tenchi, and besides that behavior had only ended up hurting her in the end by driving Tenchi away.  She had matured in the years, life demanding her to grow up some.  However she was still the same person, just a little less quick to fight, more modest with her body, and able to concentrate, and prioritize much better than before.             

            "I'm so sorry, young lady," Uchiyamada managed to gasp out as his lack of air affected his ability to speak.  "There I did it, now let me breathe."  Uchiyamada began to cough and gasp for air as he landed on the ground.  

            "Excuse me miss," Tenchi said, "but allow me to escort our friend away."  He gave her a smile as he put his arm around the head of Uchiyamada and grasped his shoulder.  

            "No problem," Ryoko said, not quite sure how to take the events that had transpired.  She mentally congratulated herself on the amount of restraint she had demonstrated.  She had sufficiently put up her barrier and not pounded the heck out of the man who had copped a feel that set off all the events.  

            "Way to go girl," she laughed as she waited for her savior to return.  'Not quite sure what to make of him,' she thought inside.

            "Let go of me you trash," Uchiyamada declared as the two passed by another block.  "I'll call the cops, and get you in jail with the scum you are."  Uchiyamada cried out as he was lifted into the air again.  

             "Now listen to me you arrogant ass hole," Tenchi said through gritted teeth.  His restraint was being pushed to his limits and his teeth were beginning to hurt they were clenched so hard.  "I am not trash or scum!  My name is Tenchi Wantanabe, and don't you forget it.  Now get out of here," Tenchi ordered.

            "Now listen," Uchiyamada stated with an attempt at superiority and strength.  Tenchi growled in response.  "Well I'd teach you a lesson if I wasn't late," he finished quickly and then took off running.

            "Late…" Tenchi said to himself.  "Oh my god, I have to be so late by now," he cried as he took off towards his bike and female companion at a sprint.  In a flash he was at the bike with a patiently waiting Ryoko with a smile on her face.

            "Oh well," Tenchi sighed.  "With the crowd for interviews they must have, they'll be running late anyway," he said to himself with a grin.  "Hey can I give you a lift to where you're going," Tenchi offered.  

            Ryoko checked her watch with a sigh.  "If it's not too much trouble," she said.  "I'm actually late as it is," she said with a chuckle.  

            "Me too," Tenchi admitted.  "Holy Cross School?"

            "How did you know?"  Ryoko asked in surprise.

            "I'm late to the interviews too," he said with a laugh.  "And they're the only people hiring teachers in this recession."  He approached the bike with a smile.  "And you look like a teacher."

            "Really?" she asked with unbelieving eyes.  "Are you trying to say that I'm an old spinster that takes perverse pleasure in torturing students?" 

            "Gah… not at all!" Tenchi declared scratching the back of his head.  "I was erm… just um… trying to say that…"  

            "Relax," she laughed.  "I'm Ryoko Mitsurugi by the way," she said with a seductive wink.  "And thanks a lot for everything.  You saved me from that truck and that old pervert.  I really, really appreciate it."  

            "Hey it was nothing," Tenchi countered with a smile.  He swung one leg over the bike and sat down taking the time to start up the engine.  

            "So are just gonna leave me hanging their stranger or are you going to introduce yourself?" Ryoko asked playfully.  Her heart leapt into her chest as the man in front of her turned around to face her.  Green eyes from contact lenses met soft brown ones and her heart began to pump with a feeling of recognition.  

            And with the beginning of his next sentence, her heart threatened to surge out of her body.  "My name is Tenchi-" 

*****************

Author's Notes:  Well this is my first Fusion fic ever… It basically runs along a similar premise to Great Teacher Onizuka as it was inspired by that anime which is very, very good (in my top 5 favorites).   My fic won't ruin the Onizuka plot either although I did steal Uchiyamada although I changed his first name (simply because I don't know his first name… in that case maybe I'm not changing it.) This will also incorporate all the Tenchi characters so don't fret.  This is more of an experiment and if this chapter does not spark interest, well definitely check out the next ones because it gets much more interesting.  This was basically a prologue in a sense of setting the stage for the story.

            I can already see that people will most likely be up in arms about the change in Tenchi's character but I basically have a few things to say to that.  I am evolving Tenchi through having him face a life that isn't exactly kind to him.  I feel that this character is very possible for tenchi if he went through the situation I put him through.  I also apologize for the angsty beginning of a series that is ultimately a romance humor.  

            I hoped you enjoyed it and please leave a review, even if it's just to say, "Hey I read this."  I fully realize that this might not be all that good of a story but I already have a fan in myself so I plan on finishing it (hey if you don't like your own work, then how can you think your own writing is decent, and then why write?).

            Drop me a line at Ledzepfan111@hotmail.com .  Hope you enjoyed this and I really appreciate knowing if people are actually reading my works so C&C is greatly appreciated.  

Thank you,

Led

Credits due where credits deserved so thanks to:

Malena (malena)

Will (William "Thundergod" Nichols)

Pops (alighthawk)

Kem (Kemanorel17)

And Jem (SSJ4 Broli)

Thanks a lot folks!


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